Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct word or phrase that best fits each of the numbered blanks.

LEARNING HOW TO LEARN AND THINK

What is the point of the education system? Although this question may seem ridiculous at first glance, it is actually not stupid as it sounds. The reason it is (20)__________trying to answer is that schools and university clearly emphasise academic achievement, passing exams and gaining (21)________much more than acquiring skills such as raising children or car maintenance. But why is it? Why do they neglect to teach practical skills at school? One answer may be that schools don't exist to help us gain useful knowledge about the world. At school, what we are (22) ________learning is how to learn effectively. The idea is that we can then make use of that ability later on in life when we come to deal (23)_______ more practical aspects of day-to-day living. However, some people argue that the current system is in fact a failure because it doesn't actually teach children how to become good thinkers. Learning how to learn is one thing. Learning how to think is quite (24)_______.